Pasting device for trading stamps and method of using same



I Oct 1967 P. 1.. GOODHART PASTING DEVICE FOR TRADING STAMPS AND METHOD OF USING SAME Filed March 8, 1963 II IlI/l/I I/ INVENTOR PETER. L. GOODHART ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,350,253 PASTlNG DEVICE FOR TRADING STAMPS AND METHOD OF USING SAME Peter L. Goodhart, Reading, Pa., assignor of one-third to George F. Bennethum, Wyomissing, Pa. Filed Mar. 8, 1963, Ser. No. 263,784 8 Claims. (Cl. 156 230) The present invention relates to a new and novel method and apparatus for pasting trading stamps and the like into suitable books provided for receiving such stamps.

The present application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 219,383 filed Aug. 27, 1962, now abandoned.

In modern-day commerce, a purchaser of articles often receives trading stamps which are kept in suitable books provided for the purpose and which can be subsequently redeemed for valuable articles. Such trading stamps are often received in very large numbers and accordingly, a considerable amount of time and effort is expended in properly pasting the stamps in position within the books provided for this purpose.

The pasting of stamps in such books is ordinarily carried out by a person without the assistance of any mechanical aid, and in general such stamps are licked or settled with a persons tongue and then manually placed in position by use of the persons fingers. This, of course, is a rather distasteful and messy operation since it requires the use of a persons tongue and further the fingers of the person often becomes sticky due to contact with the wetted adhesive portion of the stamp. It is accordingly a particular object of the invention to eliminate the necessity of wetting the stamps with the tongue and to further completely omit the necessity of handling the stamps manually while pasting them in position within the books.

The method and apparatus according to the present invention does not require the use of any expensive mechanism or chemicals, and accordingly can be safely utilized either by adults or children.

In the present invention, transfer means is provided for transferring the stamps into operative position, and in order to facilitate proper alignment of the stamp in the book, the body means of the transfer means is provided with a dimension substantially identical with the area in the book which normally receives a block of stamps thereby enabling a person to readily align the stamps properly with the area upon which it is desired to paste the stamps.

A particular advantage of the present invention is the fact that it includes a structural arrangement which can be very simple and effectively mass-produced, and wherein the cost is reduced to a minimum. At the same time, the structure provides a very efficient arrangement for carrying out the method of the invention in a most effective manner, and the structure of the device is furthermore quite rugged so as to readily absorb abuse which may commonly occur thereto when left about the average household.

Ordinary pasting devices now on the market are not suitable for use with trading stamps for a number of reasons, namely, they are normally developed for use on any flat surface rather than in a special pan. This lack of a pan often results in one unintentionally wetting table cloths, clothing or furniture tops with water in the process of pasting the trading stamp in their book. This can easily result in expensive damage to the aforesaid articles.

An object of the present invention is'to provide a new and novel method and apparatus for pasting trading stamps and the like which eliminates the necessity of a persons wetting the stamps with his tongue and further completely eliminates the necessity of manually touching the stamps when wetting and transferring the stamps into operative position.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a novel method and apparatus for pasting trading stamps which does not require the use of expensive mechanism or chemicals and is accordingly perfectly safe for anyone to use.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a transfer device including a transfer means of such a di mension as to facilitate proper alignment of the stamps in a book and which further provides uniform pasting when a large number of stamps such as a block of stamps is transferred at one time.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a pasting device which is quite simple and inexpensive in construction and which can be readily mass-produced and yet which at the same time is quite rugged and efficient in use.

Other objects and many attendant advantages of the invention will become more apparent when considered in connection with the specification and accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded top perspective view of the structure of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged end view of the structure shown in FIG. 1 with a portion broken away to illustrate the details of construction;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIGS. 4 through 8 illustrate in consecutive order the steps involved in the method according to the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the pasting device of the present invention is seen most clearly in FIGS. 1 through 3 inclusive and comprises a container or tray 10 having an open top and including a flat bottom 11 with upwardly and outwardly flaring opposite end walls 12 and 13 and upwardly and outwardly flaring side walls 14 and 15. The tray may be formed of any suitable water-proof material such as plastic and the like.

A moisture retaining means indicated generally by reference numeral 20 is disposed within tray 10, the moisture retaining means preferably comprising a sponge which as seen is substantially rectangular in configuration, the sponge fitting within the tray and resting upon the bottom portion 11 which may also be rectangular in configuration and of substantially the same size as the sponge.

It will be noted that the upper surface 21 of the sponge is disposed in a plane slightly above the upper edge of the end and side wall portions 12 through 15 inclusive, or in other words, the sponge is of a thickness sufiicient so that the upper portion of the sponge will be disposed above the upper edge of the tray whereby the transfer means and stamps which may be adhered to the under surface thereof may readily engage the top surface of the moisture retaining means without interference of the wall portions of the tray.

It is apparent that other suitable substances may be employed as the moisture retaining means, but a sponge is considered preferable due to the ready availability thereof and for its high degree of porosity.

Transfer means, preferably of plastic, is indicated generally by reference numeral 30, and includes a main body portion 31 which is substantially rectangular in configu ration and which may have a size substantially identical with the area within a book within which it is desired to paste the stamps whereby a block of stamps can be readily aligned with the area in which it is desired to be pasted.

The main body portion 31 is provided with a fiat under surface 32 which when wetted is adapted to cause the printed side of a stamp to adhere thereto. The transfer means is additionally provided with a handle portion 35 which extends substantially normally upwardly from the top side of the main body portion and which may have a dimension suitable for ready manual grasping thereof. Handle portion 35 may either be integral with or separate from the main body portion, and as illustrated, the handle portion and main body portion are molded as a single integral unit.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 through 8 inclusive, the sequence of steps involved in carrying out the method of the present invention is illustrated. As seen in FIG. 4, the under surface of transfer means 30 is first suitably wetted as by pressing down on the sponge 20 or drawing the under surface of the transfer means across the sponge, in any event causing the under surface to be wetted.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a block of stamps is indicated by reference letter S, the stamps resting upon any suitable surface with the printed side facing up toward the under surface of the transfer means. The transfer means is then moved downwardly as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 5, until the wetted under surface thereof engages the upwardly facing printed side of the stamps. Subsequent raising of the transfer means will also raise the stamps since the wetted under surface of the transfer means will cause the stamps to adhere thereto.

The next subsequent step is illustrated in FIG. 6, wherein the stamps adhered to the under surface of the transfer means have been moved and then pressed downwardly such that the opposite side of the stamps, or the side having an adhesive substance thereon, is pressed into contact with the upwardly facing surface of the sponge. This, of course, causes the adhesive side of the stamps to be wetted to place them in condition for pasting into a book.

The next subsequent step of the method is illustrated in FIG. 7, wherein the transfer means has been lifted away from the sponge and tray, and the stamps still remain adhered to the under surface of the transfer means, while the adhesive side of the stamps has been wetted.

The next subsequent step of the method is illustrated in FIG. 8, wherein a book is indicated by reference charter B, the book being illustrated as being open, and the transfer device has been moved downwardly to press the wetted adhesive side of the stamps into contact with the desired area within the book to which it is desired to adhesively permanently secure the stamps in position. It will be understood that when pressed into the position shown in FIG. 8, the stamps will become adhesively secured to the book, and the transfer means can then be subsequently lifted away to complete the operation.

It is apparent from the foregoing that there is provided a new and novel method and apparatus for pasting trading stamps and the like into a book for receiving such stamps, the present invention eliminating the necessity of a persons wetting the stamps with his tongue and furthermore completely avoiding any necessity of manually touching the stamps during the wetting and transferring operations. It is apparent that no expensive mechanism is required, and no special chemicals, but the components of the present invention are quite simple and the only additional thing required is water to moisten the sponge whereupon the device may be readily used over an extended period of time. As pointed out previously, the main body portion of the transfer means may be of substantially the same size as the area in which it is desired to paste the stamps for facilitating alignment and further to ensure that a substantially uniform pasting will be provided wherein a large number of stamps such as a block is involved. Additionally, the transfer means of the present invention may be transparent in nature and thereby facilitate the alignment of the stamps onto the pages of the book. This feature is especially important when one is pasting individual groups of stamps in the book as distinguished from a complete page. It is apparent that the structure of the present invention is quite simple and inexpensive and can be readily mass-produced, and at the same time it is quite efficient and reliable in operation and adapted to be subjected to rough handling and abuse.

As this invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the present embodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, and since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims, all changes that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims or that form their functional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents are therefore intended to be embraced by those claims.

I claim:

1. A pasting device comprising an open top tray formed of substantially water-proof material, moisture retaining means disposed in said tray and extending slightly thereabove for contact with a transfer means or trading stamps and the like, transfer means including a flat undersurface adapted to engage trading stamps and the like, said transfer means including a handle portion for facilitating manual manipulation thereof.

2. A pasting device comprising an open top tray, said tray having a substantially flat bottom and including side wall portions, a sponge disposed within said tray, said sponge having a thickness sufficient such that the upper surface of the sponge is spaced slightly above the upper edge of said side wall portions of the tray, and transfer means comprising a body portion having a fiat under surface, and handle means connected with the upper part of said body portion for facilitating manual manipulation of the transfer means.

3. A device as defined in claim 2, wherein the bottom of said tray, said sponge and the flat under surface of said transfer means are all substantially rectangular in configuration.

4. A device as defined in claim 2, wherein the flat under surface of said transfer means has a dimension substantially identical with the area into which it is desired to paste stamps and the like to facilitate proper alignment of the stamps in such area.

5. The method of transferring stamps into a book comprising providing transfer means having an under surface for engaging stamps, providing stamps having a first printed side and a second opposite side with an adhesive substance thereon, wetting the underside of said transfer means, and then contacting the under surface of said transfer means with the said first side of the stamps, and lifting the stamps and transferring the stamps to place the second side of the stamps in contact with a source of moisture, and then lifting the stamps with the transfer means and pressing the Wet second side of the stamps into contact with a portion of a book to secure the stamps permanently in position with the book.

6. The method of transferring stamps and pasting the stamps into a book comprising providing transfer means having a flat under surface, wetting the under surface of the transfer means, providing stamps having a first printed side and a second opposite side with adhesive substance thereon, contacting the wet under surface of the transfer means with said first side of the stamps to cause the stamps to adhere to said under surface of the transfer means, transferring the stamps adhered to the under surface of the transfer means and placing the second side of the stamps in contact with a source of moisture, then transferring the stamps on the under surface of the transfer means to place the Wet second side of the stamps into contact with a portion of a book to permanently adhere the stamps in position within the book.

7. The method as defined in claim 6, including the subsequent step after pressing the stamps into position in the book of removing the transfer means from contact With the said first side of the stamps.

8. A device as defined in claim 2, wherein said body portion of the transfer means is formed of transparent material for facilitating alignment of stamps on the under surface of the body portion when pasting into a desired area.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Loomis 118-236 Gowder 161-146 Duiford 25-1 Hammond 15136 Robbins 15244 X Bixby 15-258 EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner.

M. L. KATZ, Assistant Examiner. 

6. THE METHOD OF TRANSFERRING STAMPS AND PASTING THE STAMPS INTO A BOOK COMPRISING PROVIDING TRANSFER MEANS HAVING A FLAT UNDER SURFACE, WETTING THE UNDER SURFACE OF THE TRANSFER MEANS, PROVIDING STAMPS HAVING A FIRST PRINTED SIDE AND A SECOND OPPOSITE SIDE WITH ADHESIVE SUBSTANCE THEREON, CONTACTING THE WET UNDER SURFACE OF THE TRANSFER MEANS WITH SAID FIRST SIDE OF THE STAMPS TO CAUSE THE STAMPS TO ADHERE TO SAID UNDER SURFACE OF THE TRANSFER MEANS, TRANSFERRING THE STAMPS ADHERED TO THE UNDER SURFACE OF THE TRANSFER MEANS AND PLACING THE SECOND SIDE OF THE STAMPS IN CONTACT WITH A SOURCE OF MOISTURE, THEN TRANSFERRING THE STAMPS ON THE UNDER SURFACE OF THE TRANSFER MEANS TO PLACE THE WET SECOND SIDE OF THE STAMPS INTO CONTACT WITH A PORTION OF A BOOK TO PERMANENTLY ADHERE THE STAMPS IN POSITION WITHIN THE BOOK. 